Later in the day, when I thought I’d check to see if a friend could go to a local Walmart for me, it seemed that every single store within a 50 mile radius of my Manhattan zip code was also (and still is) totally SOLD OUT.

Sold out in-store too!

For a new phone to be locally unavailable because of crazy positive sales on the same day it is being sold by a major retailer, is excellent news. It shows that the phone is hugely popular, maybe because it is a steal at this price, but also because people must know that there isn’t an ocean of difference between the 521 and the flagship 920, in terms of software features. Windows Phone 8 on one, is pretty much the same on another. A huge plus.

Interestingly, the Lumia 521 is being sold at this price “off contract”, a concept that US consumers aren’t too familiar with. Usually phones come with a 2-year contract, even at prices that seem reasonable, like an iPhone for $199. It actually costs about $700, but you get to pay $199 because you’ll be tied to a pricey contract for 24 months, which obviously helps to pay for the phone. The difference with the Lumia 521 is that you pay for the phone… and that’s it, it’s yours. So use it with a current T-Mobile sim, or as a back-up or secondary device with your T-Mobile account. The phone is yours, no contract, $129.88! It’s just very difficult to find one right now!

This new Lumia will be on sale at T-Mobile retail stores later this month, so hopefully it will be more readily available.